Rail-loader.



No. 725,084. PATENTED APR. 14, 1903. G. R. HUNTINGTON & T. A'. POQUE.

RAIL LOADER.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. s. 1902.

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' PATENTED APR, 14, 19033 G. R. HUNTINGTON & T. A. TOQUE. RAIL LOADER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3, 1902.

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:LA 22 y /f WAT/F0 aug. L g (la/M y mir @jeff/Ww M/ MMM@ GEORGE R. HUNTINGTON AND THEODORE A. FOQUE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

HMLNLOAER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 725,084, dated April 14, 1903. Application iiled September 8, 1902. Serial No, 121,924. (No mode1..\

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE R. HUNTING- 'TON and THEoDoRE A. FOQUE, citizens of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Loaders; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention has for its especial object to provide improved means for rapidly loading rails onto dat-cars and reducing to mum the number of men required in such operation.

To the above ends the invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of den vices hereinafter described,and defined in the claims.

In accordance with our invention we provide a portable derrick, which is adapted to be readily moved from one car onto another just in advance of the car to be loaded. make the movement of the derrick an easy matter, it is mounted on a truck, and to curely anchor the same in working position to the bodies of the different cars suitable anchoring devices are provided. To operate the hoisting device of the derrick a fluid-actuated engine is provided.` This engine is best afforded by a straight-line cylinder-andpiston engine which is preferably directly mounted on the mast of the derrick, but may be otherwise supported. To actuate this derrick-engine, pipe or tube connections are provided for supplying the same with the motive Huid from a distant source.

As is well known, freight carsare at present quite generally equipped with air-brakes. As one :feature of our invention, we utilize train-pipes of such air-brake equipment to convey air under pressure from the airstorage reservoir on the locomotive which is used toihove the train to the hoisting-engine on the portable derrick. The said hoistingengine is provided with a suitable air tube or pipe and coupling whereby it may be successively connected to the train-pipes of the A@overal cars of the train. l/Vhen cars not equipped with air-brakes are to be loaded,f

a mini-v independent pipe-sections must be provided for conveying the motive fluid from the airstorage reservoir to the hoisting-engine.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout both views.

Figure lis a side elevation showing our improved derrick applied to one of several cars of the train, some parts being broken away; and Fig. 2 is an end elevation of one of the cars and of the derrick which is applied thereto. In the said two views the cars are shown only in part.

The numeral l indicates the bodies, and the numeral 2 the trucks, of ordinary fiat-cars which are equipped with air-brakes, the trainpipes 3 only of which are shown.

The numeral 4L indicates the body, and the numeral 5 the wheels, of the derrick-truck. The truck-body 4, as shown, has a rigidlysecured mast 6, to the lower end of which is pivoted with freedom for both lateral and` vertical movements a long boom 7, the free end of which is supported by a chain 8, passed over the top of the mast 6 and anchored at 9 to that end of the truck-frame which is moved in advance with respect to the travel of the truck. The rear section of the chain 8 is provided with a hook 10, which is engageable with any of the links of said chain to thereby support the boom at any desired elevation. As the boom is not frequently lifted, it is not often necessary to change the adjustment of said hook.

As shown, the wheels 5 are flanged and are adapted to run over loose rails ll, placed on the top of the car-body l; but these wheels may be provided with flat faces and made to run directly upon the tops of the car-bodies. When the rails ll areused, they may be projected, so as to bridge the gap between the ends of two coupled cars; but when said rails are not employed short bridging-rails (not shown) would be employed to aiford the track over which the derrck-truck may be passed when moving the same from one car to another.

The cylinder l2 of a straight-line reciprocating engine is rigidly secured to the mast 6. The depending piston-stem 13 of said engine is equipped with a roller 14, and' the IOO mast 6, below and in line with said roller 14, is provided with a guide roller or sheave 15.

The boom 7, near its pivoted end, is provided with a pair of cooperating rollers or sheaves 16, and at its free end it is provided with a single guide roller or sheave 17.

The hoisting-chain or connection 18 runs over the guide-sheave 17, between the guidesheaves 16, under the guide-shea've 15, over the guide-sheave 14, and is anchored at 19 to the mast 6. At its depending free end said hoisting-chain 18 is provided withan ordinary nail-grapple 20. As is evident, when the piston of the engine, and consequently the guide-sheave 14, is raised, the grapple 2O will be raised at twice the rate of speed of the said piston and sheave. It will of course be lowered by a reverse action.

An air-supply pipe 21, shown as secured to themast 6, leads to the cylinder 12 of the hoisting-engine. This pipe is shown as provided with a stopcock 22, which serves as the throttle-valve for the engine. At the ends of the train-pipes 3 are Iiexible couplinghose 23, and depending from the supply-pipe 21 is a similar coupling-hose 24. These hosesections 23 and 24 are adapted to be readily connected and disconnected by an ordinary hose-coupling 25, such as used for similar purposes in air-brake systems.

The derrick-truck is adapted to be quickly and securely anchored to the body of any of the flat-cars by means of anchoring rods or brackets 26, having hooked lower ends which engage under the side beams of said carbodies l, preferably as shown in the drawings. The said anchoring-rods are further provided with turnbuckles 27, by means of which they may be tightened and loosened at will. Preferably the said rods 26 are detachable, being provided at their upper ends with hooks 26, which engage with the eyes of anchoring-plates 29, rigidly secured to the sides of the truck-frame 4.

The use of the device above described is probably obvious from the foregoing description.

It will of course be understood that the coupling-hose 24 is successively connected to the train-pipes of the cars which are next to be loaded and that the derrick is always anchored to the car just in advance. Of course where the cars are equipped with air-brakes the train-pi pes of the several loaded cars in ust be connected in the ordinary way, orjust as if the air-brakes were to be operated.

By the above manipulation it is evident that one car after another of a long train may be loaded with the rails without requiring switching of the cars. By thus avoiding switching a very great saving of labor is effected.

Hitherto wherever rails have been loaded by a derrick carried by the train it has been necessary to cut out and side track or otherwise remove the cars as they were successively loaded. For this reason cars have more commonly been loaded by hand-labor o r by the use of man-power alone. To thus load cars with heavy rails requires a crew of about twenty men, and even with this large crew the work is what is usually termed a man-killing job. By actual usage of the device herein disclosed and by thorough tests and comparisons -thereof with work done by men crews we have found that four men manipulating the device can do more Work and load a car more rapidly than a crew of twenty men. The enormous saving of time and money is made obvious by these facts.

It will of course be understood that the device above described is capable of many modiications as to its details of construction within the scope of our invention, as herein set forth and claimed.

Vhat we clair'n, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

l. The combination with a train of cars and sectional train-pipes, of a portable derrick having a truck which is movable over the said cars, a hoisting-engine carried by said truck and provided with a coupling connection for connecting the same successively with the train-pipes of the several cars, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a train of cars provided with train-pipes, of a portable derrick having a truck for moving it over the said cars, a hoisting-engine carried by the derrick, and provided with a coupling connection for connecting the same successively with the train-pipes ot' the several cars, and anchoring devices for anchoring the derricktruck successively to the body of the said car, always just in advance of the car which is to be loaded, substantially as described.

in testimony whereof We affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE R. HUNTINGTON. THEODORE A. FOQUE. Witnesses:

ELIZABETH H. KELIHER, F. D. MERCHANT.

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